“This is a very sad day in Guthrie,” 14-year-old boy dies in apartment fire

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

GUTHRIE, Okla. - A teen was found dead inside a burning apartment building that was destroyed by massive flames late Monday night.

"Got a knock on the door, woke up, said there was a fire, went outside and the whole left side of that building was on flames,” Justin Mccorkle told News 4.

The blaze nearly burned Mccorkle’s apartment building to the ground around 11 Monday night, destroying all eight units inside.

"Me and a friend of mine, a mother and a daughter jumped out of the top. We helped catch them,” Mccorkle said. "You could feel the heat coming off of it, even from the opposite side of the building where I stayed."

The enormous flames quickly spread. Another apartment building nearby had to be evacuated as well as a precaution.

"They come banging on the door and we come out, come around and all the debris was falling around as we were running down the stairs,” said Kathey Rutherford, who lives in a nearby building. "This whole building, the whole front was on fire and then we just sat there and watched it burn. It just got worse and worse."

"We do have one 14-year-old male that is unaccounted for,” said Battalion Chief Erin Jones with the Guthrie Fire Department on scene.

The superintendent for Guthrie Public Schools, Dr. Mike Simpson, released a statement, saying, in part, “Obviously, our heart goes out to Saul’s family as well as the other families affected by this tragedy. The loss of young people is possibly one of the saddest parts of life, and this is a very sad day in Guthrie. We will continue to offer assistance to our students and staff as they cope with this tragedy.”